DII CONFERENCE · 2025 SEASON
THE LONG WAIT · 2025
The South Atlantic Conference runs from the Carolinas through Tennessee and Virginia — Lenoir-Rhyne, Carson-Newman, Wingate, Mars Hill, Tusculum, and Newberry competing in the Appalachian foothills. Lenoir-Rhyne has won five DII national championships and appeared in the Super Region final seven times. Carson-Newman has won two. The SAC is the most decorated conference in the Super Region East bracket and operates in a football culture — the Appalachian South — that produces DII-caliber players at a rate that major programs systematically ignore.
Lenoir-Rhyne has dominated the SAC for fifteen years. Does Carson-Newman or Wingate reclaim conference superiority in 2026, or does LR's recruiting infrastructure continue to produce national championship contenders annually?
Conference Standings · South Atlantic · 2025
| # | Team | Conf |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newberry | 8–1 |
| 2 | Wingate | 7–2 |
| 3 | Emory & Henry College | 6–3 |
| 4 | Carson-Newman College | 6–3 |
| 5 | Catawba | 5–4 |
| 6 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 5–4 |
| 7 | Mars Hill | 4–5 |
| 8 | Anderson (Sc) | 3–6 |
| 9 | UVA Wise | 1–8 |
| 10 | Greeneville | 0–9 |
Conference record determines Super Region seeding. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average.
Projected Standings · South Atlantic · 2025
Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.
| # | Team | W–L | PWR | AVG | ≥9 | ≥8 | ≥7 | ≥6 | ≥5 | ≥4 | ≥3 | ≥2 | ≥1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorites | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Newberry | 6–3 | +4.3 | 5.5 | 1 | 8 | 26 | 52 | 76 | 92 | 98 | ✓ | ✓ |
| 2 | Catawba | 5–4 | +1.5 | 4.8 | 3 | 12 | 32 | 58 | 81 | 94 | 99 | ✓ | |
| Challengers | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Wingate | 5–4 | +1.2 | 4.7 | 3 | 11 | 30 | 56 | 80 | 93 | 99 | ✓ | |
| 4 | Carson-Newman College | 5–4 | +1.2 | 4.7 | 2 | 11 | 30 | 56 | 79 | 94 | 99 | ✓ | |
| 5 | Emory & Henry College | 5–4 | +0.4 | 4.5 | 2 | 9 | 26 | 51 | 75 | 92 | 98 | ✓ | |
| The Field | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Anderson (Sc) | 5–4 | +0.0 | 4.6 | 2 | 9 | 26 | 52 | 76 | 92 | 98 | ✓ | |
| 7 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 4–5 | -0.5 | 4.4 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 48 | 73 | 90 | 98 | ✓ | |
| 8 | Mars Hill | 4–5 | -1.3 | 4.3 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 43 | 69 | 88 | 97 | ✓ | |
| Rebuilding | |||||||||||||
| 9 | UVA Wise | 4–5 | -2.5 | 3.9 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 33 | 59 | 82 | 95 | 99 | |
| 10 | Greeneville | 4–5 | -4.2 | 3.6 | 2 | 10 | 27 | 52 | 77 | 93 | 99 | ||
Conference Power · Division II
| # | Conference | Avg Power |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SIAC | |
| 2 | GLIAC | |
| 3 | CIAA | |
| 4 | Great Lakes | |
| 5 | Gulf South | |
| 6 | South AtlanticYou are here | |
| 7 | Northeast 10 | |
| 8 | Lone Star | |
| 9 | Northern Sun | |
| 10 | Rocky Mountain | |
| 11 | Carolinas | |
| 12 | Great Midwest Athletic | |
| 13 | Mountain East | |
| 14 | Mid America | |
| 15 | Pennsylvania State Athletic | |
| 16 | Great American |
Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = South Atlantic's record vs. that conference across all games this season.
South Atlantic is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.
The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.
| Rank | Team | Record | Power | Resume | ATS | Wins vs Market | Recent Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #268 | Newberry | 12-2 | +3.2 | 76 | -- | +0.00 | 4-0 over the last 4 (W11 W13 W14 W15) |
| #293 | Catawba | 7-4 | +0.5 | 55 | -- | +0.00 | 2-2 over the last 4 (W9 L10 W11 L12) |
| #302 | Wingate | 9-3 | +0.2 | 81 | -- | +0.00 | 3-1 over the last 4 (W10 W11 W12 L13) |
| #305 | Carson-Newman College | 7-3 | +0.2 | 69 | -- | +0.00 | 3-1 over the last 4 (W9 W10 L11 W12) |
| #320 | Emory & Henry College | 8-3 | -0.6 | 83 | -- | +0.00 | 2-2 over the last 4 (L8 L9 W11 W12) |
| #330 | Anderson (Sc) | 5-6 | -1.0 | 26 | -- | +0.00 | 0-4 over the last 4 (L8 L9 L10 L11) |
| #342 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 6-5 | -1.5 | 47 | -- | +0.00 | 3-1 over the last 4 (W8 W9 L10 W12) |
| #356 | Mars Hill | 5-6 | -2.3 | 36 | -- | +0.00 | 2-2 over the last 4 (L9 W10 W11 L12) |
| #385 | UVA Wise | 1-9 | -3.5 | 7 | -- | +0.00 | 0-4 over the last 4 (L8 L9 L11 L12) |
| #425 | Greeneville | 1-9 | -5.2 | 8 | -- | +0.00 | 0-4 over the last 4 (L9 L10 L11 L12) |